A Taste of Home
by LoraLee2
Summary: Something's been missing in Reid's life. He's about to find it.
1. The Injury

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer, I do not own any CM characters, I'm just borrowing them and will return them in the same condition as I found them.

Storyline Rules: There may be violence, mention of drugs and sex crimes -- this is Criminal Minds. All CM characters will remain true to character as I see them. This may be fantasy, but I will try my best to make sure anything presented as fact is accurate.

THE INJURY

The team watched in dismay as the unsub scrambled up a very rickety looking scaffold and disappeared onto the roof of the building. Grimly Morgan jumped and grabbed a support bar, which gave way under his weight. Hotch ordered several of the officers with them to surround the building and stop anyone from leaving. Gideon and JJ led the way around the building.

Reid looked at the thirty-foot-high scaffolding, the unsub had made it up there, obviously it was a weight issue, he holstered his weapon and said, "Morgan, give me a boost."

They heard pounding from above; apparently the door to the building was locked.

A chorus of "whats" met his demand. "Look, Emily and I are the only ones light enough to get up there. I used to climb these things all the time, just get me past that bar you just broke."

Hotch looked at him, "You're not going alone," he looked at Prentiss, "Do you climb?"

Prentiss holstered her weapon and nodded, "Yeah. Not my favorite activity, but I can do it."

Hotch nodded to Morgan who cupped his hands for Reid's foot. "All right, but be careful, and if you can wait for Emily before confronting him, do it. I want you both on firm footing before you get his attention."

"Got it." Reid placed his foot in Morgan's hands and gripped his shoulders. Morgan stood up and Reid reached for the closest crossbar. When he had it in his hands he raised a foot and stood on Morgan's shoulder while he pulled himself up. He cringed a little and muttered "sorry," as he felt his crotch bump against Morgan's face, no way around it though.

He wiggled the scaffolding experimentally, it gave more than he liked so he whispered back down, "Don't send Emily up until I'm all the way up, I don't think this thing'll hold us both."

Hotch watched as Reid scrambled upward like a monkey, carefully but quickly checking each crossbar before putting his weight onto it. The moment Reid reached the roof he signaled Emily to follow.

Emily placed her foot in Morgan's waiting hands and warned him, "Not one word," as she too scrambled up his body in positions that would normally be quite awkward.

"Yeah, just be glad you wore pants today, or I'd have quite the view." He steadied her as best he could as she stood on his shoulder to pull herself up.

Hotch radioed to the officers stationed around the building, letting them know what was happening, and ordered to men to climb the stairwell and access the roof from inside the building.

As Hotch and Morgan waited nervously following Emily's progress, she didn't have Reid's reach, so her progress was noticeably slower. They were reassured by the sounds of the unsub still trying to break through the security door at the top. Obviously he hadn't spotted Reid yet, which meant Emily should be able to get over without being seen, then hopefully the two could move into position for a clean capture.

Finally Emily pulled herself over the side of the building and out of sight.

Hotch flinched as he heard a loud crack, indicating the unsub had broken through the door lock. It was immediately followed by Reid and Prentiss yelling, "freeze," and the sound of three shots.

&&&&&&

Reid watch Emily's hand reach over the rooftop as he crouched silently behind a stack of empty moving crates, he tapped her hand to let her know he was there, then grabbed her arm to help pull her over the edge. He silently signaled for her to go left while he held position. The unsub was still trying to break through the door, so they had time to approach from different angles. The unsub was armed and couldn't aim at both of them if they approached separately.

Emily was about twenty feet away when they heard the door crack. Reid whispered, "Now," into his mike, and stood up behind another stack of crates, yelling, "Freeze," as Emily did the same from behind a large water pipe. The unsub ripped the door open and heard the sounds of several police officers running up the stairs. Trapped.

Slowly he turned to look at Emily, then Reid. He smiled, Reid had a moment to think, "He looks about sixteen," before the unsub pointed his gun at Emily and fired as he lunged at Reid. His body jerked as two shots hit him, arm and shoulder, but pure desperation kept him moving towards Reid and carried them both over the edge of the building.

&&&&&&

Emily heard the scaffolding clatter as two bodies hit the metal and boards, slowing their descent, but striking multiple times. She ran over to the edge of the building just as the officers came pouring out of the stairwell, yelling "Freeze" and "shots fired."

&&&&&&

Hotch and Morgan had no choice but to dive for cover as they watched in horror as two bodies fell over the side of the building, crashing into and through the scaffolding, bringing the entire structure down in a rain of boards and clanging metal. The sounds of bodies hitting the pavement brought their hearts into their throats.

They ran back over to where their friend and their enemy lay one atop the other in a tangle of limbs, wood, metal and blood, Reid having landed face down over the unsub. Both men were unconscious, or worse, Hotch gingerly reached out to feel for Reid's pulse. Morgan was calling for a medic over the radio even before Hotch nodded and whispered, "He's alive."

He felt for the pulse of the other man, it was weaker but still present. He keyed his mike, "Officer down, we need two ambulances, fast."


	2. Finding Home

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer, I do not own any CM characters, I'm just borrowing them and will return them in the same condition as I found them.

Storyline Rules: There may be violence, mention of drugs and sex crimes -- this is Criminal Minds. All CM characters will remain true to character as I see them. This may be fantasy, but I will try my best to make sure anything presented as fact is accurate.

FINDING HOME

Haley held the door of their home open, as Hotch helped Reid hobble up the stairs, the four broken ribs on his left side made using the crutches uncomfortable, while the knee-to-toe cast on his right leg made it impossible to walk without them, but Reid had already decided he could deal with either or both of them if his head would just stop trying to split open. "You're sure this is okay, Hotch? I don't want --."

"Reid, if you ask me that one more time, I'm gonna gag you. Haley and I both want you to stay here until you're able to take care of yourself."

"But Jack --."

"Jack understands boo-boos. We'll tell him you fell down and got a big owie."

Finally they made it through the door, and Hotch led Reid over to a big recliner and helped him sit back. He took the crutches from Reid's hand and leaned them against a wall, then came back to recline the chair for his friend.

"I could stay at Morgan's, if --."

"Reid, for the last time, the doctor said you need someone with you for at least the next forty-eight hours, Haley's already home with Jack and we have a spare bedroom, Morgan doesn't. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to. Now, just sit back, relax and stop worrying about the rest of the world for a few hours. I'm going into the office to fill out the rest of the incident reports, then I'll stop at your place and pick you up some clothes."

Reid rested his head back against the chair, he really wasn't up to arguing right now, "Okay." He closed his eyes and tried to relax.

He heard Hotch kissing Haley good-bye, "I'll be back in a couple hours. Try to keep him in the chair until I get back, he's been having dizzy spells, crutches are a disaster waiting to happen."

Hayley laughed softly, "You got it. Now, go away, so you can come back."

&&&&&&

Reid woke later to the smell of roasting chicken and realized he hadn't eaten since the day before, and that was just a couple sandwiches while they had arranged the sting operation for this morning. They'd started setting up at five in the morning and nobody had wanted more than coffee at that time of day. He wondered if Haley would mind bringing him something to tide him over until the meal was ready.

He _**really**_ didn't want to be a bother. He knew Hotch and Haley sometimes argued over his job, and if this wasn't bringing your work home with you, Reid didn't know what was. He decided he could wait a while longer. It wouldn't be the first time he had skipped a couple meals, hazard of the job.

On the other hand, he could really use another painkiller, the doctors had given him prescription-strength acetaminophen. He had been offered something stronger because of his ribs, but he had refused due to the little problem he had had last year. It had been so hard getting clean, he wasn't about to tempt fate.

He shifted in the chair and heard a high-pitched voice yell, "Mommy, Mommy, him's awake, him's awake." Reid winced as his head brain tried to escape from his head one more time. He heard small feet running to the other room, and breathed a sigh of relief. He opened his eyes to see Haley carrying Jack back into the room.

"How's the head?" Reid was glad to note she spoke quietly.

"Hurts like --" he glanced at Jack, "H-E double hockey sticks. I don't suppose you'd mind bringing me my --?"

Haley smiled and held up a bottle, "I thought you might be ready for these." She put Jack down on the couch and leaned over beside the chair, "Let me raise the chair for you." He braced himself as the chair moved to its upright position. She opened the bottle and handed Reid the glass of water sitting beside the chair along with two pills. She watched while he swallowed them, then took the glass back.

"Aaron called, he's already picked up your stuff and should be home in half an hour or so." Reid blushed as his stomach growled, giving away his hunger. "Dinner won't be ready for an hour, how about a snack?"

Reid blushed more but nodded, he braced his hands on the arms of the chair to stand up but Haley stopped him with a stern, "You, sit." Reid thought she must take drill-sergeant lessons from Hotch, "Just tell me what you want, I'll bring it in here."

Reid gave her an awkward smile, "I don't know what you have."

"How about a ham sandwich?"

"That sounds great. Thanks."

Haley left the room, calling behind her, "Come on, Jack, let's make Spencer a sandwich." Reid had a moment's pause at what kind of sandwich he'd get with a two-year-old's help, but decided he was hungry enough it really didn't matter.

When Haley and Jack returned a few minutes later Jack was carefully balancing a sandwich and several carrot and celery sticks on a paper plate, while Haley followed with a glass of milk. Haley instructed Jack to place the plate on the coffee table beside the chair and set the glass down next to it.

Jack pulled himself up on the couch while Haley returned to the kitchen. "Just yell if you need anything else."

Reid took a bite of the sandwich and was chewing gratefully when he realized Jack was watching him intently. 'Great, the Reid effect, as Hotch called it, was kicking in.' Reid swallowed and wondered what he could possible say to someone whose vocabulary consisted of a couple hundred words, after all it's not like he was a sparkling conversationalist with adults.

He held up the sandwich and settled for, "Good. Thank you."

Jack responded by giggling and sliding off the couch. He walked over to Reid's side and looked at his plate. Reid watched the boy and held back a chuckle of his own. Ah, he was hungry, too. Haley probably wouldn't let him eat this close to dinner. He held out his sandwich and said, "Bite?"

Jack shook his head, "cawwot." Reid reached over to the plate, picked up a carrot stick and held it out to the boy. Jack grabbed the carrot and ran back to the couch. Reid finished his sandwich, not even realizing how nice it felt to just sit quietly with the child.

Reid had just managed to pawn off the last celery stick on Jack when he heard Hotch's key turn in the door. "Honey, I'm home." Reid thought about what a nice ring that had to it. He'd never actually heard anyone say that except on tv.

Jack squealed and ran out to greet his father. Reid turned his head far enough to see Hotch pick Jack up and blow on his stomach. Reid smiled, eidetic memory was a curse and a blessing, everything he saw and most of what he heard became burned into his memory, filed away to be recalled later: The sight of Hotch delivering zerberts, Jack kicking in laughter, now that memory was definitely going to be stored on the good side.

Reid watched as Hotch tucked Jack under his arm like a football and walked into the living room. He sat on the couch, Jack on his lap, facing Reid, "how's the head?"

"Hurts, but I'll live."

"And the ribs?"

"Just don't start telling jokes."

Hotch laughed, "I think I can manage. I brought your ready bag from work, and stopped by your apartment. You need more clothes. And some furniture."

"I have furniture."

"Reid, I haven't seen a bachelor pad that bad since I graduated from college. Let me guess the two most expensive things in your apartment were the tv and the computer?"

"Yeah. I've got everything I need."

Hotch just looked at the younger man.

"I hate shopping and it's not like I spend that much time at home anyway."

"You need furniture. And clothes. Especially since you lost two pair of pants to the scissors today." Hotch nodded at the split seam on Reid's pants, "You're not exactly going to be able to wear those once the cast comes off."

"Fine, if you let me use your computer, I'll order some new clothes online later."

"Great, after dinner, we'll get you into the office and you can have at it."

Haley stuck her head into the living room, "Aaron, dinner's almost ready, why don't you help Spencer get washed up?"

"Sure, Honey." Hotch brought Reid's crutches over and stood in front of the chair with them.

"You ready for this?"

Reid responded with a 'you gotta be kidding look,' but just said, "As ready as I'll ever be." He helped Reid move forward in the chair until he could grasp the crutches, then held them firm as Reid used them to pull himself upright. Hotch winced at Reid's gasp of pain, but couldn't think of any way around it.

He steadied Reid to prevent him from overbalancing, asking, "Any dizzinesss?"

"Just a little, just give me a sec."

"Take as long as you need. We've got all day."

"Not really." Hotch looked at him blankly. "I've needed to get up for a while."

Hotch noticed a slight flush rising on Reid's cheeks, "Does this mean you refuse to ask my wife to help you get to the bathroom?"

"I don't want a woman listening outside the bathroom door in case I tip over, so sue me." Reid carefully inched his crutches forward and hopped ahead. Hotch stayed next to Reid, arms carefully positioned to steady him if he started to fall. After what seemed an eternity they reached the bathroom door. Reid grasped the handle, "I think I can handle it from here."

Hotch smiled and started to back away. "Um, Hotch."

"Yeah."

Reid gave an embarrassed half smile, "Don't go too far away? Just in case I tip over."

"I'll be right here."


	3. Settling In

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer, I do not own any CM characters, I'm just borrowing them and will return them in the same condition as I found them.

Storyline Rules: There may be violence, mention of drugs and sex crimes -- this is Criminal Minds. All CM characters will remain true to character as I see them. This may be fantasy, but I will try my best to make sure anything presented as fact is accurate.

SETTLING IN

Reid wiped his mouth and set his napkin beside his plate. "Dinner was delicious, Haley, thank you. I hope you didn't go to any extra trouble because I'm here."

Reid sat at the end of the dining room table with his leg stretched underneath, resting on a stepstool under the table and the chair on the other side. Not the easiest position to get in or out of, but about as good as it was going to get. Hotch had changed into jeans and a blue Polo shirt, it always surprised Reid how different he looked in casual clothing.

"Not at all, I love to cook, Spencer. It's just nice to be sure someone's going to be here to eat it."

Hotch started clearing the table and leaned over to give Haley a kiss, "Well, it's a pretty sure thing you'll have me here for the next couple nights anyway, they're not likely to send us out while we're short two team members."

"Two? Was someone else hurt?"

"No, but Prentiss is out until after the shooting review, the mandatory three days off and a sign-off from psych."

"When is the shooting review, Hotch? Will we be doing them at the same time?"

"Wednesday morning, yours is at nine, Prentiss's is at ten. I figured she's in better shape to hang around in the hallway all morning."

"Thanks. She doing okay? This is her first shoot; right?"

"Yeah, JJ and Garcia are inviting themselves over to watch chick flicks tonight." Hotch looked at his watch, "In fact, they should be getting there about now. JJ's supposed to text me with a condition report."

Reid groaned, "So, does that mean Gideon and Morgan are coming over here with martial arts movies?"

Hotch scratched the back of his neck, "Morgan voted for _**Die Hard**_. He thought you might enjoy looking at someone who's been beat up worse than you. I have to text them in half an hour to let them know if you seem to be up to it or not."

"Oh, no, I feel bad enough crashing in on you guys as it is, I don't want to drag half the team over here to try to make me feel better."

"Not you, Reid. Them. We all thought we'd lost you; everyone just wants to make sure you're okay. Your choice, do you feel up to it? Let them see you're still breathing.

"Why not? I feel like he looked at the end."

Hotch laughed, "Reid, you look worse than he looked at the end. Do you have anything that's not black and blue?"

"I don't think so. Remind me not to _**roll**_ the next time I fall off a building."

"How about I just remind you not to fall off any more buildings?"

"That works, too." Reid looked at Haley who was putting plastic wrap over serving dishes, "But I really don't want to put you to any trouble with more people coming over."

"Nah, I don't have any problem with shirtless Bruce Willis _**and**_ four hunky guys in my living room."

"Four?"

"What?" Haley asked innocently, "You don't think Gideon's hunky?"

Reid was glad he didn't have to respond to that, as both Hotch and Haley were leaving the room with dishes, he sat stunned for a few moments, just thinking. _**Hunky?**_ She must be joking, or high.

Hotch and Morgan were _**hunky**_. Gideon? Well, okay, he supposed. But him? No way. He finally decided she must be teasing him, like when JJ said he was cute or when Elle used to tell him his only problem was being too shy or Morgan telling him he wasn't bad looking. They were just trying to make him feel better about himself, but he had mirrors, nothing but a scrawny kid with too much brainpower there. The perpetual little brother. Not the least bit _**hunky**_.

Hotch came back for more dishes, he had his cell phone wedged between his shoulder and ear, "Yeah, Gideon, come on over. No, he knows you're coming. Tell Morgan it's BYOB, last time he wiped me out." He carried a load of dishes out to the kitchen, came back, "Yeah, Morgan, a couple six packs of diet soda for Reid's probably a good idea. Thanks." Another trip, "Hi, JJ. Prentiss wants to see Reid? Sure, come on over, but I am not watching _**Thelma and Louise**_, waste of a perfectly good car if you ask me. Yeah, snacks would be good. I don't know, whatever you guys feel like picking up."

Jack watched as Hotch brought the last of the dirty dishes into the kitchen, then looked at Reid, and asked, "Get down?"

"Not yet. Daddy will let you down." Reid grimaced, hoping that was the right answer.

"Please?"

"Sorry, Bud, we both have to wait for Daddy. I'm stuck, too."

Jack tilted his head, "You 'tuck?"

"Yeah, I'm stuck."

"Daddy let you down?"

"Yeah, Daddy will let us down. Just be patient."

"'Kay, me wait, 'Pencer."

Standing in the doorway behind Reid, Hotch stifled his laughter at watching Reid try to communicate with his child.

"Tell 'tory?"

Reid felt panic well up for a moment, the kid wanted a story? From him? He didn't know any kid's stories.

Hotch was about to step in when Jack said, "Cat Hat." He could actually see Reid relax, apparently even geniuses read Dr. Seuss.

"Okay. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss:

"The sun did not shine.

"It was too wet to play.

"So we sat in the house

"All that cold, cold, wet day..."

Hotch quietly slipped back into the kitchen to help Haley finish drying the dishes.

"Where's Jack? He should be screaming to get down by now."

"Reid's telling him a story. I think they'll be okay long enough for us to finish these."

"Great. Think we'll have enough time to get him in the tub before everyone gets here?"

Hotch looked at his watch, figuring how far Gideon, Morgan and JJ would have to drive, "Maybe." Hotch put the last dish in the cupboard and continued, "If you do tubtime while I move Reid, we might make it."

&&&&&&

Author's Notes: Cultural references, if you're American or Canadian you already know these, but since the Net is international:

Chick Flicks - movies made for women.

_**Die Hard**_ - an action movie starring Bruce Willis.

_**Thelma and Louise**_ - a famous chick flick where the heroines drive a very nice car off a cliff after a crime spree rather than be arrested.

BYOB - bring your own bottle/booze means that if you want alcoholic beverages at a party you need to bring your own.

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss - Fine children's literature.


	4. Family Night

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer, I do not own any CM characters, I'm just borrowing them and will return them in the same condition as I found them.

Storyline Rules: There may be violence, mention of drugs and sex crimes -- this is Criminal Minds. All CM characters will remain true to character as I see them. This may be fantasy, but I will try my best to make sure anything presented as fact is accurate.

FAMILY NIGHT

The doorbell rang.

Gideon and Morgan arrived first, bearing two cases of beer, several DVDs, Reid's promised soda and a shopping bag from the sports shop in the mall. Morgan and Hotch headed to the kitchen with the drinks, while Gideon headed straight towards Reid with the movies and shopping bag.

Reid eyed the bag warily as Gideon placed it beside his chair, it would be just like Morgan to buy him a football or something equally athletic as a get-well gift. Still, he liked presents; he leaned a little to the side, trying to see what was in the bag.

Gideon spotted the move and chuckled, "You can have your presents once everybody gets here." He pulled the wooden coffee table over from in front of the couch and sat on it facing Reid, "First, how do you really feel?"

Reid never really knew how to answer that type of question; he hurt, it was obvious he hurt, but he'd been hurt just as bad, if not worse, before. He settled for, "I'll live. The painkillers are working okay, but they make me tired. The doctor said I can take an increased dose for two or three days, but if I need it longer than that I have to go back and get a stronger prescription. Well, unless I decide I don't like my liver anymore."

"Well, hang in there. We all know you can do this. But if you need something stronger, say so, there's no reason to believe you'd relapse."

"No. I can't. I don't trust myself with that yet." Reid paused, "Soon, but not yet." He fought to keep from hanging his head in shame at what he'd done, reminded himself it was water under the bridge with these people, his friends, instead he smiled wryly, "Am I making sense or is my concussion talking?"

"You're making perfect sense, Spencer. And you're the only one who can make that decision. Just keep in mind, we're all here for you."

Morgan chimed in from the living room door, Hotch coming in behind him, "Yeah, and if we need to kick your ass again, we'll do it. Just keep us in the loop this time. Deal?"

"Deal."

"But seriously, man, anything we can do for you right now?"

"Not really, just give me that soda you're holding, and don't make me laugh."

"He's already promised to be serious. Now, Garcia? If anyone on this planet has figured out how to make her behave herself, I haven't heard about it yet."

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the lady in question, along with JJ and Prentiss. JJ was had a couple grocery bags overflowing with chips and dip, while Prentiss carried a couple four-packs of wine coolers and Garcia had a bulging canvas tote bag.

JJ immediately came over and placing the snacks on the coffee table beside Gideon, leaned over to kiss Reid on the cheek. She pulled back and looked at his face, "Well, I have to say, Reid, for someone who fell off a building this morning, you look pretty good." Reid couldn't help smiling - and blushing - as he tried to think of something witty to say, or just anything to say.

Garcia came to his rescue by elbowing JJ out of the way, "You have got to stop doing this, Sweetie, I can't take this kind of stress."

"Sorry, Garcia." Reid reached out and poked the tote in her hands, "Is that for me?"

Garcia nudged Gideon aside and took his place on the coffee table, she unzipped her bag and pulled out a gallon-size Zip-Lock bag full of markers. "Everybody needs to sign your cast," next she pulled out a bag of mini candy bars, "I'm betting you've been going a crazy today with no candy."

Reid smiled, nodded and eagerly reached out for the bag. They all knew Hotch and Haley didn't keep candy in the house because of Jack, and nobody needed to know he'd slept through most of the day so he hadn't missed a thing. "I've been dying for some chocolate, how'd you know?"

"Easy, you're always dying for chocolate."

Reid glanced over to the doorway where Emily was still hovering. She was obviously not dealing with the situation well. He turned back to Garcia, but a perfect memory came in handy at times, he silently catalogued what he'd seen: Her eyes were puffy, she'd obviously been crying; she had on more makeup than usual, for movie night? definitely camouflage; she had her hair in a ponytail, which she usually only did when they were going out in the field; jeans and a t-shirt; and she wasn't quite steady on her feet, she'd probably been drinking before JJ and Garcia had picked her up; and most importantly, she wasn't joining the group, wasn't meeting anyone's eyes. She was deep in the guilt over something - either shooting the unsub, him getting hurt, or just as likely both.

He raised the pitch of his voice, something he rarely did on purpose, but was all too aware happened when he was excited, "What else you got in there?" Hotch was right, this was for his friends as much as for him, so let's make it good.

Garcia came through for him, "This is to keep that magnificent brain of your from dying of boredom," she reached into the bag and pulled out a laptop. "This is Charlie, now he's just a loaner, but he comes fully loaded. He's got over a hundred different games, is ready for wireless Internet, which," she reached back into the bag and pulled out a small black box with a mini antenna, "since the boss here does not have hooked up, I brought along just for you. This one's my own design, just hook it into any phone jack and voila, instant WiFi."

She set the laptop and box on the coffee table beside her, and reached into what Reid was starting to think of as Santa's magic bag, "Just last week you were saying you wanted to learn to read French, so I stopped and picked this up on the way over here." She pulled out a French tutorial program. "It's one of the best programs there is, you're supposed to be able to learn to read, write and speak conversational French fluently in six months. Since it's you, I figure you'll have overtaken my high school French by the end of next week."

Reid took the package, this was perfect, he looked at the back, "Hey, Emily, you speak French; right?"

She nodded, took a step further into the room.

"Will you help me with my pronunciations?"

"Sure." She cleared her throat, "Sure, when do you want to start?"

"Well, we're both off tomorrow, how about in the afternoon? Here, check out the package, tell me what you think." He held out the software, forcing her to approach him, to fully enter the group.

Reid breathed a sigh of relief when she put down the wine coolers next to Garcia and took the box from his hand. "Yeah, I've never worked with one of these programs, but it looks good. Have you studied a language before?"

"Spanish, but from what I've been told my pronunciation sucks. Apparently you can't learn an accent from books." He didn't mention that Elle had tried for weeks, but given up trying to correct the poor verbal skills he had gotten started with. Emily was still a little uncomfortable hearing about the woman she had replaced. She probably always would be.

She continued to read the box as she spoke, "No, you really need to hear it, to learn it," without thinking she sat on the arm of Reid's chair. Reid smiled, knowing he'd distracted her for a few moments at least, but also knowing that it was hitting her sooner rather than later, and he was guessing it was hitting hard.

He waited a few moments before turning back to Garcia, to see if she had any more goodies in her magic bag. She didn't disappoint, as soon as she saw she had his attention again, she pulled out two coloring books attached to oversized clipboards and a box of 64 crayons, announcing that she figured he and Jack could spend some time coloring together.

He started to laugh, grabbed his ribs and groaned, Garcia started to apologize profusely, which for some reason struck him as funny and made him laugh again. "No jokes, Garcia, no jokes."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She stood up and started waving her hands. Reid closed his eyes to block out the sight and begged, "It's okay, Garcia, just please stop, you're making it worse."

He laughed harder when he heard the rest of the room, start to crack up. One of those moments that's only funny because it really shouldn't be, but when he finally got his breath back, Reid was pleased at the fact the tension levels in the room seemed to have dropped considerably. Especially Emily's. She was leaned against the back of his chair, with her arms folded across her own ribs, trying to catch her breath.

Haley returned from putting Jack to bed just as the laughter was dying down, and Reid turned his attention to the bag that Gideon had brought in. Since Emily was still sitting on the arm of his chair, he asked her to hand him the bag, which was by her feet. He opened the bag and looked inside. He pulled the items partway out and gave Morgan and Gideon a confused look, "You got me workout pants? Guys I'm not going to be going to the gym for a while."

Morgan came over, "No, look, they're tear-away pants," he pulled at the waistband, and they came apart with a ripping sound, "Velcro."

Reid was more confused than before, he couldn't believe Morgan thought those were a good thing, maybe those painkillers were a little stronger than he thought, "Tear-away pants? Morgan, if I'm not going to the gym, I'm definitely not dancing in a strip show."

Reid sat in confusion, while the rest of the room broke down in laughter. Poor Emily actually fell off the arm of Reid's chair, landing in a heap on the floor; he could see JJ and Garcia were starting to turn purple. Gideon managed to stop laughing just long enough to almost say something before starting again. Hotch had his face buried in Haley's shoulder and she had tears streaming down her face.

After several minutes Morgan managed to get out, "Now, that's your concussion talking. They're for your cast. So, you don't have to cut up any more of your pants."

When the laughter died down for a second time, Hotch picked up a DVD case and said, 'Well, now that we know Reid's painkillers are working, how about we start the movies."


	5. Breakfast with the Gang

BREAKFAST WITH THE GANG

Reid groaned as he woke up, God, he felt like he'd been run over by a Mack truck. Then he remembered, no, not run over, but falling off a building had to be a close second. Damn he hurt; guess the painkillers had been helping more than he thought yesterday, unfortunately they'd worn off overnight.

He sat quietly for a few moments debating whether he wanted to wake up or not. Then he realized he didn't really have a choice. He looked around for his crutches, saw them leaning on the wall across the room. Maybe he could hop over to the crutches. He leaned over to pull the recliner's lever and sit himself up. He saw Emily lying on the floor next to him wrapped in a sleeping bag; JJ was a few feet in front of his chair in another.

This was not good. He looked around the room, Gideon had claimed the couch and Morgan was lying with his arm over Garcia on the other side of the coffee table. Well, since he had to pick, it was going to be Morgan. He opened the bag of candies Garcia had brought him last night, and chucked one at Morgan.

Morgan stirred as the candy hit him in the back. Reid threw another one, aiming for his head this time. "Hey, Morgan," he whispered watching as Morgan lifted his head a little then flopped back down. Okay, this was getting serious; Reid needed to get up now. He grabbed one of the markers that Garcia had brought and pelted it at Morgan's back. Morgan shot up and looked around the room sleepily. "What the f-?"

"Morgan," he hissed.

Morgan looked at him, waking rapidly. "What's up, Kid?"

"I need a hand."

"Wha --?"

"Morgan, wake up. I need to get up."

Morgan looked at his watch, "It's five in the morning. Go to sleep."

"I need to go, Morgan."

"Christ, Kid, why didn't you just say so?"

"Will you just give me a hand?"

"Yeah," he climbed to his feet, "Give me a sec." Morgan walked over and grabbed Reid's crutches, and stopped dead when he turned around and saw Reid was surrounded by sleeping women. There was no way he was getting out of there on crutches without tripping on someone.

He leaned the crutches back against the wall and walked over to Reid, he bent over, "come on." Reid tensed as his friend slid one arm under his legs and the other behind his back, "Hang on."

He put his arm over Morgan's shoulder, "Just don't drop me."

"Yeah, well, you don't wiggle, and I won't drop you. I'm more worried about stepping on Emily."

Morgan carefully stepped over Emily and carried Reid to the bathroom. When they got inside he set Reid on the floor, "You got it from here?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"I'll go get your crutches and be right back."

&&&&&&

Reid sat at the kitchen table with his leg up on a chair, while Morgan made coffee. Morgan had brought him his new clothes and helped him clean up and change. He'd winced to see just how much of his friend's body was covered in bruises, then it had taken some searching to find his pain meds, since all Reid knew was they were in the kitchen so Jack couldn't get them by accident.

Morgan set a cup of coffee down in front of Reid as Hotch came down the back stairs into the kitchen. He wore sweatpants and a t-shirt and his hair was wet. He pulled a couple keychains out of the cupboard where he'd put them the night before and tossed them to Morgan, "Would you get everyone's bags out of the cars?"

"Sure."

Hotch started pulling food out of the fridge, "Hey, wait, man, Gideon's here, you're not going to cook, are you?"

Hotch, chuckled, "No, I'm going to get everything ready and threaten to cook. Trust me, the second Gideon smells oil heating in a pan, he'll be in here."

Profiling at its best, Morgan laughed and headed out to the cars. He thought about their line of work, the differences between them and everyone else. Sometimes it was the little things that stuck out, sometimes the big things. He wondered how many people moved duffle bags from vehicle to vehicle when they carpooled. There was a reason they were called ready bags, he supposed that fell under the little things.

Now, having a slumber party at your boss's house because you wanted to be close to your coworker who'd gotten tossed off a building, that would probably be classed as a pretty big thing. Throw in a second coworker who was shaken up because she'd shot someone and saw her friend get tossed off the building, and you're getting into huge differences. But accepting that shooting someone and getting tossed off a building was just part of the job, well, damn, that was a freakin' Grand Canyon of difference between his team and the rest of the world.

Morgan carried the five ready bags back into the house. He dropped four on the floor and headed up the stairs with his. Shower time. And if he was playing pack mule today, he was getting his while there was still hot water.

&&&&&&

Reid watched quietly as Hotch pulled food out of the refrigerator and the cupboards and the freezer, it was amazing how much food the seven of them could put away, and this morning Haley and Jack would be joining them. "Hotch," Reid hesitated, until the last year, it had been an unspoken rule not to profile each other, "Did Emily seem okay to you last night?"

"She's upset. That's pretty normal, it's the whole reason the three days is mandatory. You were good with her last night, just don't let her know what you're doing."

"Don't worry, I'm really not up to having my ass kicked today." He paused, "I don't think she should be alone today, think you can manage to not have time to take her back to her apartment this morning?"

"Consider it done."

Hotch handed Reid a red and green pepper and a paring knife along with a cutting board and salad bowl, "Let's get the prep work started before we wake Gideon up." Reid set about dicing the peppers the way Gideon had taught him. He liked watching Gideon cook, they all did. He'd been forced to learn to cook when his father had left, it was simple chemistry, follow the instructions, add ingredient one to ingredient two, heat, stir, you come up with edible food. But man, when Gideon cooked it was artistry, magic; ingredient one plus ingredient two became cuisine.

Reid heard the bathroom door close and continued with Hotch's subject change. It wouldn't do to have Emily walk in while they were discussing her. "Do you think we have enough food?"

"I think so, ham steaks, sausage, two pounds of bacon, two dozen eggs --."

Gideon's voice came from the doorway, "Start peeling potatoes for hash browns." He walked over to the refrigerator and started peeking in containers; he held one up, "This chicken from last night?"

Hotch replied affirmatively.

"Reid, dice that up as soon as you're done those peppers, it'll bulk up the omelets."

"Are the girls still asleep?"

"Like logs, Hotch. Don't worry, they'll wake up as soon as they smell food." Gideon turned the oven on low and pulled a large electric frying pan from under the counter, and plugged it in on top. He pulled out another cutting board and cut the three ham steaks into smaller portions and placed them in the pan. He wiped the cutting board and expertly pealed and diced a large onion, working so quickly no one even had time to tear up.

He pulled a stack of cookie trays from under the cupboard and set them beside his work area. He flipped the ham and using a strong sharp knife sliced the packages of bacon in half making sixty-four short slices from thirty-two long ones. He eyed a bowl of fruit on the counter and asked Hotch if he had any frozen berries.

Emily and JJ wandered into the kitchen as Hotch was pulling the fruit from the freezer. "Good, more helpers."

JJ smiled and pulled a couple elastic bands from her pocket. She handed one to Emily and reached to put her hair in a quick ponytail. Emily followed suit, "Where do you want us, Boss?" Hotch tossed the packages of mixed berries to Emily, who caught them with a confused look on her face. Gideon pointed to a lower cupboard, "There should be large bowls under there, pour the berries in, then start cutting up that fresh fruit over there; dump in a couple containers of yogurt, a little vanilla, lemon juice and sugar and it's fruit medley."

"JJ, can you start the pancake mix? It should be in the cupboard to your left." Emily set the berries down on the table, then collected the fruit, stopping along the way to hunt down a paring knife, she reached under the counter and grabbed two bowls, handing one to JJ. Emily settled at the table next to Reid, whispered, "Is it my imagination, or does Gideon know Hotch's kitchen better than Hotch does?"

Reid whispered back, "It wouldn't surprise me if Gideon knows Hotch's kitchen better than Haley does." Then he asked louder, "Is Garcia still asleep?"

"No, she went upstairs to see if she could get a good look of Morgan getting out of the shower."

Hotch groaned, "I hope he remembered to lock the door this time."

Gideon chuckled, "Are you kidding? If he doesn't lock the door after last time, then we'll know he likes stepping out of the shower with Garcia watching."

JJ giggled, "You mean you didn't believe her when she said she didn't know Morgan was in there." The chorus of no's that met her joke just made her and everyone else laugh. Reid grabbed his ribs, but laughed along with the others.

They were still laughing when Morgan came down the stairs dressed in sweats and muttering under his breath, "Hotch, I am coming back tonight and installing a deadbolt on that door."

"What happened?"

"She picked the lock."

"What? No, you must have forgotten to lock it."

"No, I didn't. Nuh-uh. She popped the lock. Now, if I did that, nobody'd be saying it's cute, you'd be sendin' me down for a psych eval. After you arrested me."

"But Morgan," JJ put in, "We already _**know**_ Garcia's nuts for you, what good's a psych eval going to do?"

Hotch spoke cautiously, "So, you want me to go upstairs and arrest Garcia?"

"What?! No! That's crazy. I just shoved her in the shower with her clothes on. And the hot water should be," he was interrupted by a squeal from upstairs, "running out any time now. That oughtta cool her jets."

Emily winced, "That's just cruel, Morgan."

"Yeah, well if she'd quit sneakin' up on me, then I'd quit getting mad about it."

JJ laughed, "So, next time she tries to peep at you in the shower, you want her to knock first?"

Morgan just grumbled, knowing he'd lost this argument. He didn't have a modest bone in his body and really didn't mind that Garcia wanted to get a good look, he just didn't like the sneaking part. But if she didn't sneak, then they'd have to admit they both wanted more from their relationship, which he wasn't ready for either. Yet. He decided to shut up and grabbed a stack of plates from a cupboard and went to set the dining room table.


	6. Computers and Crayons

COMPUTERS AND CRAYONS

Emily wasn't quite sure whether she'd been forgotten or set up, but she'd been loading the dishwasher with Haley when suddenly everyone had been collecting keys and heading to cars. She also wasn't sure whether she was upset about being 'abandoned' or just glad not to be sitting in her apartment alone again. Yesterday she'd insisted she was fine, nothing wrong, and she'd thought she was, but the second she'd closed her apartment door behind her she'd fallen into a crying jag that hadn't let up until JJ and Penelope had shown up at her door with movies. That, and gotten a bit drunk.

She realized she never should have insisted on going home alone yesterday after she had filed her shooting incident report, but between the paperwork they'd all had and worrying about Reid she hadn't wanted them to worry about her as well. Besides she'd never been very good at emotional issues. What was she going to say, "Hey, this is the first time I ever shot anybody, somebody want to come hold my hand so I don't drive myself nuts with guilt?"

So, now she was perched on the arm of Reid's chair again so she could read the screen of the laptop perched on his lap, looking at - of all things - furniture. After they'd cleaned up from breakfast Haley had asked Emily to stay for the morning so she could take Jack to his playgroup. "So, why are we shopping for furniture online? You really should buy furniture in person, you have to make sure it's comfortable."

"I know, but I want to have an idea what I want before going to the store. It'll save time."

"Okay. So, what are you looking for?"

"I don't have a clue. That's why I asked for help."

"Okay. So, why now? Does getting tossed off a building always put you in the mood to shop?"

Reid laughed at her joke, "No, Hotch took one look at my apartment yesterday and threatened to take Morgan and go get me new furniture if I didn't do it myself. I don't even want to think about what they'd come back with."

"You don't think they have good taste? This place is nice."

"No, I think they have good taste, but they think I don't. They'd wind up giving me a professor's office or some ultra-masculine manly man's furniture trying to macho me up." He smirked at Emily, well aware of his own foibles, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not overly macho. I really just want something comfortable, that looks nice." He looked down at the monitor and spoke quietly, "And I'd like enough seating to have everybody over to hang out once in a while."

Emily suddenly realized she didn't even know where Reid lived, she'd been to everyone else's home at least once; she, JJ and Penelope took turns being designated driver, so she'd been to both their homes; Morgan had had a couple small parties, not much more than last night, pizza, beer and movies, but it had been a good time, Clooney was adorable; Hotch and Haley hosted all the holiday dinners because they had more space, not to mention a big kitchen and formal dining room; she'd even dropped a few files off for Gideon one time and he'd shown her his model train collection, but she didn't think anyone had ever been inside Reid's apartment until yesterday. God, that must be lonely.

"Well, then, let's get shopping." By the time Haley and Jack returned, they had narrowed the selection down to four living room sets each with a seven-foot couch, love seat and matching recliner, as well as a new kitchen table with chairs and, after much blushing from Reid at Emily's teasing suggestion to 'go all the way', a new bedroom set. Emily plugged the laptop into Hotch's printer and printed the choices so everyone could see. She assured Reid that his choices were masculine without being 'macho' and that, yes, while he was the one who lived there and needed to like what he picked out, it was perfectly normal to be concerned about what his potential guests would think.

She showed the selections to Haley who voiced her approval of their selections and asked about his new paint colors and curtains. Reid just groaned and opened the laptop again; he'd long ago learned that some battles just weren't worth starting. Emily laughed at him and closed the laptop placing it on the end table beside him, "Relax, you can't pick your wall and curtain colors until you make the final decision on your upholstery pattern. We'll get fabric samples from the furniture store and bring them to the paint store with us. Then after you select your paint colors, we can pick out curtains and things."

Reid raised his eyebrows, not sure he liked the vagueness of that, "Things?"

It was Emily's turn to smirk, "You're going to need new curtains, towels, bedding, a couple throw rugs, maybe new blinds, a shower curtain and bathmat. You know, things."

"But -- I -- damn, you know I was actually pretty happy with my garage sale couch."

"It'll be fine." She paused for a moment, thinking, "In fact, why don't you let JJ, Penelope and I take care of that for you?"

"What?"

"Sure, why not? I've got a pretty good handle now on what you like, and JJ and Penelope never pass up a chance to shop. I promise nothing frilly or fussy."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah, that's what family's for isn't it?"

Reid smiled, family; yeah, that's what family's for. "Okay. If you're sure you don't mind."

She stood up, fluffing is hair the way JJ sometimes did, "It'll be fun. I love spending other people's money."

Reid smiled again, as she and Haley went into the kitchen to fix Jack lunch.

&&&&&&

Reid was feeling so good at Emily's reference to their group as a family that it took him a few moments to realize that the women had left Jack behind. Jack sat on the couch looking at Reid expectantly, Reid decided he should say something to the kid; trouble was he never knew what to say to children, they tended to start crying the second he walked in a room. He spotted the clipboards with coloring books that Garcia had given him last night, it had been her idea of a joke, but if it would keep Jack happy, he'd sit and watch the kid color.

He pointed at the coloring books and asked, "Do you want to color?"

Jack's eyes lit up and he climbed down from the couch saying, "Yay, cowor."

This is good, Reid thought, the kid likes to color. A moment later he was horror-stricken when Jack plopped one of the coloring books and the crayons on his lap and climbed into the chair with him. "Ha -- Haley." Damn, he was squeaking. He tried again, louder this time, "Haley."

Haley popped her head back in the room, looked at the picture the two presented and smiled. She walked over to the chair, "Oh, Jack, you forgot Spencer's book," she picked up the second coloring book from the coffee table and handed it to Reid. "Here you go." She kissed Jack's head and said, "Now, be a good boy and color with Spencer."

"Me good boy, me cowor wit' 'Pencer, Mommy."

"Good boy. Mommy will be right back with your lunch." Reid just gaped at her back as she turned and left the room. He thought he heard Emily snickering behind him, but refused to look. He opened the coloring book on his lap and pulled a crayon from the box. Apparently he wasn't going to get any help from that quarter, he might as well go with the flow. Besides the kid thought he was being a 'good boy' sitting with him, Reid could hardly make him get down now.

&&&&&&

Ten minutes later Haley and Emily came back with a plate full of sandwiches and, Reid hid a grimace, more carrots and celery, they found Reid with his arm around Jack's shoulders, trying to guide the crayon in his hand - in reality, coloring a fire truck bright purple while holding Jack's hand in his own. Emily stifled a giggle as she looked at the second book Reid had placed on top of the laptop on the end table, the lions and tigers in his circus scene were all appropriately colored, unlike the scene the two were working on together.

Jack looked up, "Wook, Mommy, 'Pencer hewp. Us draw good."

"That's beautiful, Honey. I'll put it on the fridge after lunch." Taking the coloring book and crayon box and setting them aside, she placed the plate on Reid's lap. "Oh, I brought your medicine, too, since you're supposed to take it with food." Haley grabbed the lever to raise the recliner to an upright position as she pointed Emily in the direction of some wooden T.V. trays in the corner. Emily set one up and placed a tumbler of milk on it for Jack, and a glass for Reid.

Reid placed the plate of sandwiches on the T.V. tray next to the glasses. He leaned over and was relieved to see it contained his soda, not milk. Raw vegetables were bad enough, but if he had to drink milk, too, at the same time, just to set a good example for the kid -- well, he had to draw the line somewhere. He took the glass and held out a hand to Haley for his pills. "Thanks." Emily and Haley went back into the kitchen and brought their own plates back out and settled down on the couch.

Reid picked up a half a ham sandwich and chewed quietly, listening to the two women talk about home decorating and sponging? versus stenciling, something about fabric swatches? and wallpaper. He wondered whether they were discussing his apartment, he thought he should mention he didn't want anything fancy with his walls either, but felt his concentration waned as the drugs started to invade his system, hitting him harder than they had this morning right after he'd woken. He managed to finish a full sandwich and a few carrot sticks before he fell asleep.


	7. Making Plans

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers, I do not own any CM characters, I'm just borrowing them and will return them in the same condition as I found them.

MAKING PLANS

Hotch picked up his phone, it was after one and he finally had time to call home and check on Prentiss and Reid. For an office day, the whole crew had been flat out since they'd arrived this morning. Johnson's team had taken an out-of-state case that normally would have come to them, and had sent all their daily case assessments over in trade. He debated whether to call the house phone or Prentiss's cell, he finally decided on Prentiss's cell in case she had managed to find her way back to her apartment.

"Hey, I'm sorry 'bout this morning, by the time I realized you didn't have a ride, we were all at the office already."

Emily laughed, "Sure, we can go with that one. What's up?"

"I just wanted to see how Reid's getting along."

"Reid's fine. He's sleeping again. I'm fine. Haley and I are looking at paint colors online."

Emily switched the phone to speaker just in time for Haley to hear Hotch ask, "You're painting my house?"

Both women laughed, Haley responded, "No, you, Derek and Jason are painting Spencer's apartment."

"We are? Why?"

"He told Emily that you said he needed new furniture."

"He does. He's supposed to be getting some new clothes too, but how does Reid buying a couch equate to us painting his apartment?"

"Simple, when you get new furniture, you need to paint. Spencer obviously can't paint by himself right now, so we elected you guys."

"How -- but -- never mind." He knew this was an argument he couldn't win, "When should I tell Jason and Morgan to show up?"

Emily responded, "We'll paint Sunday. Can you have JJ and Garcia call me when they get a chance, and tell Morgan, we'll need him on Saturday to help at the furniture store?"

Hotch replied cautiously, "So, am I going to the furniture store, too, Prentiss?"

"If you want to, but Morgan can manhandle Reid in and out of my car easy enough."

"I don't know if I want to ask this or not, but why Morgan specifically, he hates shopping?"

"Reid's already pretty much picked out what he wants, but he's worried Morgan's going to tease him about his choices. If Morgan's there when Reid makes his final decisions, he can't bust his chops about it later."

Hotch laughed, "Don't count on that."

Emily and Haley both laughed, "Okay, he can't bust his chops as much."

"Sure, we can go with that one. Hey, is Jack up?"

"No," Haley grabbed the phone and headed for the living room, "But you've got to see this."

"Haley, no, Reid'll kill us."

Haley snapped the picture, and said, "Why? They're adorable."

Emily put her hand to her forehead and groaned quietly, "_**Because**_ they're adorable."

Hotch pulled the phone from his ear in confusion, and burst out laughing at the picture on his screen. He didn't know about _**adorable**_, but Reid would definitely kill to keep this photo away from Morgan. Jack was curled up against Reid WITH HIS HEAD ON Reid's side and his thumb in his mouth, Reid had one arm wrapped around Jack, his hand resting on the child's back, and somebody, he assumed Haley, had covered them with the blanket from the couch.

He smiled as he said his good-byes and went off to tell his team they now had plans for the weekend.

&&&&&&

Hotch opened his front door wondering what he'd find tonight. He walked inside and called out to Haley to let her know he was home. When Jack didn't come running to meet him, he headed into the living room. Jack looked up from where he was sitting with Reid, a giant storybook in their laps. Hotch leaned down to give Jack a kiss, "Hi, Daddy. Me weed wit' Unca 'Pencer. Him weed good."

Hotch looked around his living room and smiled, there was a very large pile of discarded picture books lying in a heap next to Reid's chair, crayons and coloring books on the coffee table, Charlie the laptop was sitting on the coffee table with what Hotch assumed was the language program open on it, and Reid's crutches were leaning against the back of the chair, so Hotch assumed he'd been up during the day.

"Bonjour, Hotch, comment vas-tu?"

"Tres bien. Et toi?"

"Ca va. Anything interesting happen at work today?"

"Paperwork. I see _**you've**_ been busy. Reading, coloring, studying French. By the way, your French accent is much better than your Spanish."

"Yeah, Emily's a drill sergeant when it comes to pronunciation. Made me recite the alphabet over and over for almost an hour, before we got to the first word."

"Well, it's working, so don't complain too much." Hotch sat on the coffee table and lowered his voice, "How is Emily today?"

Reid kept his voice lowered as well, "She seems a lot better, we didn't really talk about yesterday, I wasn't sure how much it's safe to say in front of Jack, but she's kept busy most of the day."

"I heard. Morgan, Gideon and I are going to meet and move the furniture and prime the walls Saturday after you and Morgan get back from the furniture store. Then everybody's going over Sunday to do the actual painting."

"I need primer? What is primer?"

"Have you ever done any housepainting?"

"No."

"Do you have any idea of everything that has to be done?"

"I'm beginning to think I don't. We don't just get a couple rollers and a can of paint?"

"Not even close. Don't worry about it, just look at this as a learning experience, Prentiss and I'll take care of the logistics, you sit back and learn how it's done. Deal?"

"You're sure you don't mind?"

"Reid, I wouldn't be doing it if I minded. Neither would Gideon and Morgan."

"Okay. It just seems like a lot of work. And I really can't do much but get in the way right now."

"Would you do the same for me?"

"Of course."

"There you go. It's part of being a team; we help each other out. Now, Emily said you have printouts of the furniture you selected?"

"Yeah," Reid reached over to the side table next to him and picked up the stack of papers. "What do you think?"

Hotch looked at his face and knew that however casual the question sounded, Reid was really concerned about the answer. He kept his face neutral as he took the pictures, he'd picked Emily up for work one morning when her car was in the shop and had been surprised to see that her apartment was very feminine, he didn't think she'd pick out anything like that for Reid, but there was always a chance.

The picture of the table and chairs was on top, "You decided to do the kitchen, too?"

"And the bedroom, Emily convinced me to go ahead and get everything at once, that way it all matches and I only have to do this once."

"It's a good idea. And everybody's coming, so you can get everything set up just the way you want it. These are really nice choices." He held up the color options, "I assume Emily's the one with the eye for color?"

Reid nodded. "I was amazed, it only took us a couple hours to do the whole thing. She insists I have to actually go try out the couches first, to make sure I like how they 'seat.' Hopefully by Saturday I'll figure out what she means by that."

Hotch looked around his living room, "Oh, I've been through this one. It means making sure it's comfortable. And since you're tall, making sure you can stretch out on it." Reid just looked at him. "Yeah, she's going to make you pretend to take a nap in public." Reid just groaned. Hotch laughed and headed for the kitchen, "What is it those Borgia people say in Star Wars? Resistance is useless?"

"Resistance is futile. And it's the _**Borgs**_ in Star _**Trek**_."

Hotch walked out of the room laughing, "I know."

&&&&&&

Emily watched as Hotch came into the kitchen and immediately moved to kiss Haley hello. She tried to hold back a smile at how different he was in and out of the office.

"So, how did today go?"

"Fantastic. Emily's great company and you wouldn't believe how good Jack has been today. He has been glued to Spencer's side, ever since we got back from playgroup. We might have to adopt him."

"Yeah, I was going to ask when he became 'Uncle Spencer'?"

"Oh, um, well, that developed right after naptime."

"What happened?" Hotch didn't like the note of worry that had crept into Haley's tone.

"Well, um, you know he's not quite completely potty trained yet."

"He didn't?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Jack peed on Reid?"

Haley just nodded her head.

"How'd he take it?"

Emily laughed, "Remember the face he made when Morgan put lemon juice in his coffee? Kinda like that. Then Jack turned those big blue eyes on him, said, 'sowwy, Unca 'Pencer.' and Reid just patted him on the back and told him it was okay. Looks like your son is going to be a master manipulator just like his daddy."

"But on the upside, he did really well with the crutches, Honey."

Hotch glanced back towards the living room, "I hate to ask, but did he need --?"

"No, I put his ready bag in the bathroom and told him to yell if he needed help. He didn't yell."

"Like you'd ask me to help you get dressed?" Everyone turned to see Reid hobbling through the doorway, Jack following behind carrying two glasses. "As Morgan would say, 'ain't happenin' in this lifetime.'"

"Reid, you probably shouldn't be getting up, without somebody there."

"I'm okay, Hotch, the dizziness is gone."

"Still --."

"Hotch, I haven't had a dizzy spell all day and my head doesn't feel like it's going to explode anymore. And I did fine with the crutches earlier. I'm a little slow, but I can get where I'm going."

"All right, I give. Just be careful; okay?"

"I am. I will be. I just don't see any point in yelling for somebody to come in the living room when I'm perfectly capable of coming in here and getting a drink by myself." He looked at Jack now standing beside him, "Well, almost by myself. I haven't figured out how to carry things yet."

Hotch decided a change of topic was in order, "Jack, did you pick up your books?"

"Mm-hmm, me did, Daddy. Unca 'Pencer 'mind me to."

"Good boy. Thank you."

Jack walked over and handed the cups to Hotch, "More pease?"

"Sure." He looked into Reid's cup, "More of the same, Reid?"

"Yeah." Reid hobbled over to the table and sat down. Jack eagerly climbed up in the chair next to him. Hotch poured their drinks and set them on the table.

"Have they identified our unsub yet?"

"Yeah, we got a hit on his prints. James Summers, nineteen, he's had a string of arrests for drugs and various violent offenses going back to when he was twelve. According to his doctor he had ingested enough meth to K-I-L-L a horse, which explains why he was able to keep going after being S-H-O-T twice. They expect him to recover fully from the G-S-Ws, it's the head injury from the fall that's going to be the problem. He may have some serious brain damage, they won't know for sure until he wakes up."

"So, they expect him to make it?"

"He's still in critical condition, he could go either way, but the doctor was pretty clear that he would have survived without complications, if he hadn't T-H-R-O-W-N himself and Reid off the B-U-I-L-D-I-N-G. I brought home a copy of his report if either of you want to look at it. I've already sent a copy to the review board. We can talk more after J-A-C-K goes to B-E-D, because spelling out all this stuff out is a P-A-I-N in the A-S-S."

Emily and Reid laughed as Hotch went upstairs to change out of his work clothes before dinner.

Author's Note: Since I can't be the only one with very rusty high school French skills, here's the translations:

Bonjour, Hotch, comment vas-tu? Hello, Hotch, how are you?

Tres bien. Et toi? Very good. And you?

Ca va. Okay.


	8. Cash & Conversations

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers, I do not own any CM characters, I'm just borrowing them and will return them in the same condition as I found them. 

CASH AND CONVERSATIONS

FRIDAY MORNING:  
Garcia walked into Hotch's office and stuck out her hand, "Mornin', Sweetie, this is a stick-up, I want all your cash"  
Hotch looked at her warily, but reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He thought about questioning the interchange, but decided against it; when Garcia was up to something, it was usually best to let her run with it. "You know, that's supposed to be Haley's line"  
She grabbed his money and smiled over her shoulder, "She'll understand, Babe." She winked at him and went searching for her next victim.  
Next up Gideon, surprisingly they'd become friends in Georgia, and that friendship had remained and grown after their return. "Hey, Dollface"  
Gideon looked up from his desk, "Hi, what can I do for you today"  
"Empty your wallet"  
"Hmm"  
"Come on, you heard me. I want all the cash you've got on you"  
"This something to do with Reid?" he asked as he pulled his wallet out.  
"Trust me, he's gonna love it." Gideon smiled, "I'm sure he will"  
As she left the office she spotted Morgan stepping off the elevator, she adjusted the hem of her blouse and trotted off to meet him at the coffee machine. She deliberately glanced at his behind as she greeted him, "Hey, Sweetcheeks"  
"Hey, Baby Girl. How's tricks"  
She purred, "Does this mean I'm forgiven for the other morning"  
He mumbled to her, "You know, it's the sneaking that bugs me, not the looking." He kept his eyes on his coffee cup as he spoke, it was something he'd wanted to say for a long time but been too uncomfortable to broach.  
"Oh, Lambchop, you should have said something sooner." She rubbed his arm with one hand while she moved her other hand across her chest in the time-honored tradition of 'cross my heart,' "I promise, I'll never sneak again"  
His mumbled, "S'okay" was barely audible, but it was enough for both of them. He held out his cup, "Coffee"  
She took a sip and handed it back to him completing the ritual of penitence and forgiveness. He turned to smile at her and did a double-take at her fistful of money, "What's up"  
"Time to empty your wallet, Sugar." Her usual playful tone reentered her voice.  
"Do I get to ask why"  
"Nope, just pay proper homage to your Goddess, and everything will be revealed in due time"  
He laughed, "Okay, just tell me one thing," he said as he pulled out his wallet. "Anything, my Adonis"  
"Does this mean I don't have to go buy Reid a stupid potted plant, just so he can kill it"  
Garcia nodded once, "You are officially off the hook. There will be no need for floricide." He swooped down and kissed Garcia's cheek as he handed over his money, then watched as she sashayed away, smiling in the knowledge that that sway of her hips was just for him. Garcia turned the corner, next stop JJ. "Hey, what are you doing out and about this early"  
"I do leave my office once in a while, you know." Garcia sat on the edge of JJ's desk, careful not to knock over any of the dozens of files.  
"Yeah, briefings. The rest of the time we have to go to you," she groaned, "unless you want something. What is it? My firstborn hasn't even been thought of yet, so that's out"  
"No, this one's relatively painless. No blood, just money. Pull out your wallet and hand it over." JJ reached into her bottom desk drawer for her purse, "Am I allowed to know what I'm giving you money for"  
"Tomorrow, my pet, tomorrow"  
JJ couldn't help smiling, she laughed, "How much"  
"Whatever you have on you"  
"You're not asking for a set amount"  
"Nope, this way it's fair"  
JJ shook her head slightly at Garcia's logic, "How do you figure that"  
"Well, we all have a certain amount that we've okayed ourselves to spend on unplanned things, that's what we carry with us. So, everybody gives their unexpected expense money. See? Fair"  
"You know you're insane; right"  
"That's why everybody loves me." She grabbed JJ's cash and hurried out of the office.  
JJ mumbled to herself, "Yes, that is why we love you"  
Garcia left headed back toward the bullpen to locate her final target before the morning's briefing. Emily smiled as she saw Penelope crossing the room toward her, Morgan had already warned her Penelope was collecting for some mystery gift for Reid. She pulled her wallet out of her purse and waited.  
"Hey, Toots, how's it feel to be back at work"  
"Good. Really good"  
"So, no problem with the shooting review board and the shrink"  
"No, I was worried for a couple days, but Reid started talking about his first shooting review, after that Dowd guy, and we just got talking about the whole thing. The next thing I know I feel better about the whole thing"  
"Yep, that's my boy genius. Always thinking about how to make others feel better." She snatched the money from Emily's unresisting hand, "Which is why we are getting him the most fabulous housewarming gift anyone's ever seen. See ya in briefing."

Morgan lifted Reid out or the store-supplied wheelchair and set him down sideways in the backseat of Emily's SUV, Reid used his arms to pull himself back until he was leaning against the opposite door, resting his broken leg on the seat with his left foot on the floor. After several attempts this morning, this had turned out to be the most workable position. Reid leaned his head back against the window, exhausted. He never would have guessed that trying out couches and mattresses would be so much work. "Sit in this chair. How does it feel?" "Okay, now lay down on this couch." "Why?" "To make sure you fit, dummy. Why else would she tell you to lie down, you think we just like looking at you?" He didn't tell Morgan that Hotch had warned him about having to try out all the furniture because if he did, then he couldn't 'argue' with Morgan about it, which was one of his favorite pastimes.  
By the time they'd gotten to the mattresses, he hadn't had enough energy left to argue, he just lay down and pretended to sleep, rolled from his back to his good side to make sure the firmness was just right. He could've killed Morgan when he suggested Reid bounce around a little to see if the box springs squeaked. He'd finally chosen the fourth out of the ten that Emily had made him try. He had to admit he would probably be happier with his choices than if he'd gone by himself and just bought whatever he thought looked good. He leaned his head back against to car door, so glad that the hard part was over and he had decided he could trust the girls with the paint and curtain colors and his credit card, he honestly didn't think he could handle two more stores today, much less make any more decisions. He sighed, turning over his card was the easy part; trusting Garcia to help decorate his apartment was nerve-wracking, he was a little anxious about what kind of color scheme she would try to arrange, but Emily had assured him she would keep Garcia in check. And he always had the right to get something else if he didn't like what they picked, he knew he probably wouldn't bother, but he could if he wanted to.  
Morgan climbed behind the wheel and Emily sat in the passenger's seat, JJ and Garcia were going to meet them here, so Emily could show them exactly what Reid had picked out before they went to the fabric and paint stores. Morgan and Reid would go ahead to the paint store and pick up the basic supplies; primer, rollers, brushes, trays, drop cloths, that way the girls would only have to carry the actual paint - Reid had been shocked at the length of the list Hotch and Gideon had drawn up and called ahead to the store. Who knew so much was involved in slapping on a couple coats of paint?  
"I can't believe you talked that salesman into delivering on a Saturday and carting off all Reid's old stuff"  
"A lot of stores will take it to Good Will or the dump, you just have to know to ask"  
"Yeah, and you being a hot babe didn't have anything to do with it? You played that guy like a violin"  
Emily just laughed, "Hey, whatever works, if a little flirting gets it delivered next Saturday, I'm game, but I think it was more the thought of the nice commission he's got coming from this sale. Mom always says if you want service with your big-ticket items, go with a commissioned salesman"  
Morgan turned around, "Yeah, that reminds me, where the hell did you get the cash to just write a check for all this? You been moonlightin' or somethin"  
Reid, looked out the back window for a moment, he'd been waiting for this to come up. Emily came from money, she hadn't even blinked at the amounts he was spending, he'd known Morgan was going to be different.  
"I guess you could class it as 'or something"  
"So, what you been doin'? Nothin' illegal, I hope"  
Reid laughed, "Give me a break, you know I'd bring you along if I was knocking over banks in my spare time. No, you remember when Shyer said I could make money counting cards in Vegas"  
"How could I forget? He called me a pumped up side of beef and then he Tasered me the minute I wasn't lookin"  
"Well, he was right." Reid realized the flip side of what he'd said, "About me, not you. I could make a lot of money counting cards in Vegas. Although I actually spend more time at the poker tables than Blackjack, it's more challenging. And why go all the way to Vegas when there's perfectly good casinos in Maryland? I usually go about once a month." "How long you been doing that without tellin' me"  
"Um, since I turned twenty-one and could get in legally. Didn't know I needed your permission"  
"Permission? Nah. I wanna go along. Sounds like fun"  
"Really? I didn't think you'd be interested. We can go as soon as I get my walking cast. You drive. But I have to warn you it's really not that much fun, I go, win enough to pay mom's bills, put some in my retirement fund and I come home. I wouldn't even stay overnight, except the big money games don't get going until late. Well, that and the hotel has a really great all-you-can-eat breakfast"  
"You and your food. You'd probably go just for the breakfast buffet"  
"Mmm, not for the breakfast. Now, the dinner buffet? Maybe. And wait till you see the dessert table, it's amazing"  
"Yeah, for someone who doesn't have to watch what he eats. The rest of us, have to pick one thing and just look at the rest"  
"Come on, Morgan, that's why you have to go back. Besides you'll only have to do extra sit-ups for a week or so." "This from the man who can eat an extra large pizza by himself and not gain an ounce"  
Reid just shrugged, "Hey, it's not all good. You know how fast I get run down when I'm sick. Not to mention I have you calling me 'scrawny' three times a day"  
"Hey, if the shoe fits. I keep telling you, you need to work out more." "You know it doesn't make any difference, I only gained five pounds after six months of FBI training. Klein made me get examined for eating disorders. It was humiliating"  
"Klein did that to you"  
"Yeah, I even had to use a Bureau doctor, he didn't trust me not to fake the results"  
"That guy's always been an ass. Way too old school"  
"You're telling me? He was after me the whole time, 'No pain, no gain. Gotta toughen up, girlie. Suck it up, pretty boy, this ain't the Girl Scouts.' I swear he thinks he's a Marine drill sergeant"  
"Army. But yeah, he's every bad military stereotype there is. One of those people you wouldn't be surprised to see turn unsub one day"  
"Yeah, let's not go there. I'm probably top of his list, he still growls at me when we cross paths. He was not happy he wasn't able to wash me out"  
"Yow," Emily threw in, "I've heard about him, I thought he had it bad for women, but it sounds like he really hated you"  
"Yeah, to him I am the epitome of everything law enforcement is not; all brain, no brawn. And he's got some major control issues. I'd love to get him chained to an interrogation table and find out what they are"  
"You think you could break him, Bud"  
"Oh yeah, that guy? I could tear him apart and enjoy every second of it"  
Morgan chuckled, Reid didn't take lead in interrogations very often, but when he did, he always dug deep. He'd seen more than one unsub left sobbing as Reid walked out of the room with the information he'd been seeking. And all without raising his voice. Someday he was going to be just as good as Hotch and Gideon. Emily twisted to look out the back window, a Jeep was pulling up, "That's JJ and Garcia." She pointed a finger at Morgan, "Now, remember ten o'clock tomorrow morning, and do not be late"  
"You say that like I'm late all the time"  
"You are." She jumped out of the car, "I'll see you tomorrow, Reid"  
"Wait"  
"What"  
"You promise not to let Garcia go overboard"  
"Relax, Reid. Between JJ and I, we can keep her in line. Besides she promised to take it easy on you. But you know, she really does have a good eye for color, she just likes a little more than most people"  
"It's just -- well, you know I don't -- I'm not used to -- I don't have her flair, I can't carry off colors the way she can"  
"I promise, casual but dignified"  
"Okay. I really do appreciate you guys doing this for me"  
"Reid." Reid recognized Morgan's serious voice. "Yeah, Morgan"  
"We're family. This is what family does. Got it"  
Reid smiled back, "Yeah, I got it"  
"Good. Now relax and stop thanking everybody every ten minutes"  
"Okay"  
"Great. Now how about you buy us guys pizza for lunch to thank us"  
Reid laughed, "Sure. Start dialing" 


	9. Preparations

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers, I do not own any CM characters, I'm just borrowing them and will return them in the same condition as I found them.

PREPARATIONS

Morgan dropped the last of the painting supplies in the corner of the living room and looked around, Hotch and Gideon had been hard at work, Most of Reid's living room now sat in the center of the room, the dismantled computer sat on the floor under a large corner desk, with his VCR and DVD player. Morgan winced at the condition of the couch, the only other furniture in the room, it was functional but threadbare and had definitely seen better days, "Reid, man, you sit on this thing? I wouldn't let Clooney sleep on that."

"It's not that bad, Morgan. I've just never bothered getting new stuff."

"Yes, it is, man, and I thought Hotch was just being all old-married guy when he said your place needed some major help."

"Hey!"

"What? You're married."

"I'm not old."

"No, that would be me, which is why I'm letting you young guys move the bookshelves." Gideon spoke with laughter in his voice as he looked at the seven bookshelves filled with books, DVDs, videotapes and CDs.

Morgan walked over to one of the shelves and pulled a boxed set of DVDs out, "CSI? You don't get enough of that shit at work?"

"It's a different side of it. Forensic criminology was my second career choice, it's a fascinating field."

"So, you ever wish you'd gone that route, made a different choice?"

"You've got your JD, you ever wish you'd taken the bar and opened a law practice?"

"Prosecutor's office, and no, not really. But then I ain't never been tossed off a building either." Morgan refrained from mentioning the last major injury Reid had had. "Come on, you gotta think about it sometimes."

"I thought about it. After Georgia, I thought about it all the time for a while. It's all I _**could**_ think about." Reid was aware of Hotch stilling on the other side of the room, he knew he could let Morgan continue to question him, or he could change the subject, he knew they'd let him, but after the way he'd behaved last year, he owed his friends some answers. He waited quietly for Morgan's next question. "Do you have any idea how different my life would be if I'd done what my professors wanted and become a lab rat," he pulled a face, "or worse, a college professor?"

"Well, you wouldn't be getting tossed off buildings."

"But I wouldn't be me either. It took a lot to make me realize that, but this is who I am, what I am."

"So, what happened? What brought you back?"

"New Orleans. The plane. I sat in the bar with Ethan, drinking and pretending I didn't know what was out there, pretending the monsters weren't real. I looked at him and what he'd done with his life, saw he was happy with his choices and I really asked myself if I could do the same thing; if I could turn my back on the monsters and hope somebody else would take care of them."

Reid shook his head, almost sad, "It would've been the biggest mistake of my life. Ethan, he makes people happy with his music; he's satisfied with that. Forensics, I could put criminals in jail after they committed their crimes; it really would make a difference. But this is different; we stop them before they commit the next crime. This is where I belong. This is where I need to be, what I need to do. Somewhere along the line it stopped being a job and became who I am."

Reid pulled an empty box towards the bookshelf with a crutch; he needed to do something if he was going to have a serious discussion like this.

&&&&&&

"So, Em, have you enjoyed hanging out with Reid this last week?"

"Yeah, actually I have. He's a really nice guy."

"You weren't saying that last year."

"Yeah, well, he was being a pain in the ass last year. Just because I bitched a little doesn't mean I didn't like him, I just couldn't figure out what his problem was. I hate that."

JJ sighed, "And therein lies the problem with working with profilers, they can tell if you've messed up your fingernail polish at the same time they're hiding a major drug addiction behind the guise of mild PTSD."

"Come on Jayje, we've been over this. You are not allowed to beat yourself up over this, nobody figured it out until Reid was willing to let us."

"I know, Penelope. It's just that -- I don't know, I still feel bad about not being there when he needed us."

"We were there, honey. Just like we are now. And he knew that, he knew we'd be there to catch him when he fell. And when he was ready, he trusted us to pull him back."

&&&&&&

"I still can't believe what an ass I was. Especially to Emily."

"Hey, man, we're all just glad you're better. But I'm warning you now, you ever slip up and I'm gonna kick your scrawny ass to rehab and back."

"Thanks, Morgan. You have no idea how comforting that thought is." Morgan started toward Reid, then remembered he couldn't touch him. Reid smiled and resisted the strange urge to stick his tongue out.

"So, what did go on between you and Em?"

"Oh, I don't think we need to get into that, can we just leave it with I was pretty much a prick whenever the two of us were alone? I'm just lucky she didn't decide to report me or file a complaint. She could have a couple times."

"Prentiss isn't the kind of agent to put papers in jackets." Hotch was lifting the flat-screen TV off its wall mounts, "She fought hard to get here, she was a lot more likely to kick your ass than file a complaint."

"Ah, Reid could've taken her."

"Gideon, have you seen her in hand-to-hand training?"

Gideon shook his head.

Morgan laughed, "The girl fights dirty. If Reid had pissed her off enough for her to take him down, she would've had his nuts for a handbag.

&&&&&&

An hour later Garcia instructed JJ, "Pull in here."

JJ looked at the house they'd pulled in at confused, "Penelope, we cannot get Reid an Amish person for a housewarming gift."

"One, these are Mennonites, not Amish; two, we are here for product not person." She opened the door and hopped out, pulling her large carryall with her. "Come on, you are going to love this." Garcia turned toward the small house as the door opened and a young Mennonite woman stepped out.

She rushed forward and hugged the young woman, "Melody, it's been so long. I swear you need to get e-mail."

JJ looked at Emily as they got out of the car, she raised her eyebrows and mouthed, 'e-mail?'

Emily shrugged and moved forward to meet the young woman.

"Guys, this is Melody, we met when I took a quilting class she was teaching. I called ahead, she has just what we need."

"Please, come in. Penelope says you are in need of a gift for your young bachelor friend. My friends and I worked very hard to finish before you got here."

JJ and Emily stared in awe at the work of art before them. A traditional Mariner's Compass quilt in shades of blue was hanging on the far wall. JJ walked over to it, Emily a few steps behind, "This is for Reid?" She reached out to touch it, but pulled back, "It's perfect."

Garcia walked over to stand behind JJ and Emily, "Well, girls, was this worth emptying your wallets for?"

The girls just nodded, thinking how much Reid was going to like his housewarming gift.

&&&&&&

Morgan pulled another box down, looked at it, "Reid! You're kidding me, Buffy the Vampire Slayer?!"

Reid took the box from his hand and looked at it smiling, "I haven't watched these in a long time. I had such a huge crush on Willow. I almost cried when she fell in love with Tara. Girl broke my heart."

"Reid, they're teenagers!"

"I know, Morgan, so was I. I was seventeen when it came out. I watched that and dreamed about what high school would have been like if I'd been normal."

Morgan gave him his don't-put-yourself-down look, "Don't look at me like that, I was _**not**_ a 'normal' teenager, and you and I both know it."

"Yeah, well, who cares about normal? We like you just the way you are, and don't you forget it."

&&&&&&

Garcia opened the top of a roll top desk to reveal a computer, which felt totally at odds with the rest of the room. She laughed at the looks of confusion on JJ and Emily's faces, "Melody's a Modern Mennonite, she didn't want to stop her schooling when she turned sixteen, so she went to the public school in town. She met her first computer there, and I'm afraid it corrupted her wickedly. Now, she acts as a liaison between her community and the 'English' world. She mostly lives in the traditional ways, but she has a phone and computer. Specifically, my dear Melody handles the Internet sales of the community's products, they sell furniture, toys, handspun and dyed yarn, honey, canned goods, and of course, the quilts."

"We also sell baked goods and fresh canned vegetables locally. But Penelope has been trying to convince me that we can increase our Internet business if we start to take credit cards."

"And I have the program right here, Sweetie." Penelope slipped the disk into the machine. "Give me twenty minutes and you will be up and running." Garcia turned her attention to the computer and allowed her friends to become acquainted with each other.

"Bartering is a time-honored tradition among my people, my quilting group was glad to accept Penelope's computer services in exchange for finishing the quilt so quickly. I'm just glad we had a top that Penelope liked." Garcia listened with half an ear as Melody explained the intricacies of quilt design and production.

&&&&&&

Hotch sidled up to Reid, pulled a book off the shelf, "Reid?"

"Yeah, Hotch?" Reid recognized the quiet tone in Hotch's voice, he was either going to point out something Reid really should have known and would be embarrassed to have missed, or he was going to make some joke.

"I just wanted to make sure you do realize, normal high schools don't have vampires and werewolves - maybe a few witches, but no demons."

Author's Note: I'm a bit insane, I wanted to be able to adequately describe Reid's new furnishings and decorations, so I went cyber shopping. I decided that since Reid is always cold (note all the sweaters) that he'd need a good quilt, and what could be better than a real Amish quilt. So, in looking for a pattern that was manly and dignified, but still colorful, I learned a bit about the Amish and Mennonites and Garcia's friendship with Melody was born.

I'd post the link but it won't seem to work. If anyone really wants to see Reid's quilt go to DiscussTheGube and look under fanfics, there's a subcategory LoraLee's fanfics, I'll post the link there - browse the site while you're there, you may come back :)


	10. Colors of Home

COLORS OF HOME

"Are you sure about these colors, Emily?"

"Yes." Emily smiled at the concern in Reid's voice. "I guarantee that when everything's finished, you're going to love it."

"They're not girly?"

"They're not girly. They're very neutral."

"You're sure I don't want darker colors?"

"Dark walls are depressing, you want light colors on the walls, but we got you dark trim for contrast."

"And it matches the furniture?"

"Yes, it matches the furniture, we brought the swatches with us."

"Reid." His head snapped around in response to Morgan's you're-being-a-pain-in-the-ass-again voice.

"Yeah, Morgan?"

"If you hate it, we'll repaint. Now, get your ass out of the way and let us get started."

Reid relaxed a little as he retreated to his drop cloth-covered couch, if Morgan was volunteering to repaint, then the colors must be okay. He looked to where Hotch and Gideon were setting up supplies in the kitchen; JJ and Garcia had grabbed a can of paint, some rollers and headed for his bedroom. He smiled as the thought flitted through his mind that JJ was finally in his apartment, actually _**in**_ his bedroom, and he was stuck on the couch with a broken leg and ribs, and his bed was in pieces on the living room floor.

He watched as Emily and Morgan worked in the living room. He was amazed at how quickly the appearance of the room changed as the colors were applied. The guys had done the ceilings the day before when they had primed and Morgan and Emily wasted no time, moving quickly and efficiently so that the walls were finished much quicker than he would have thought possible.

As they moved onto the trim, he had to admit the colors were … nice, they seemed like what he might see in some of the nicer homes he had been in. He really wished that he had some sense, any sense, of artistic value. Oh, show him a painting and he could tell you the style, period, artist and financial value, but whether he _**liked**_ it? That was another story. Lila had told him art should make him feel, but an elective art appreciation class in college, followed by an on-line course after meeting her, and nothing. He looked at art and he _**felt**_ nothing.

Now, a good book, on the other hand, a well-thought-out plot, an exciting mystery, a historically accurate work of fiction, or especially a glimpse into the future could fully absorb him, draw him in. Morgan had laughed at him when he'd brought Harry Potter on the plane, but the final book, Harry's long walk had brought him to tears, it was something he could identify with; and Morgan had ribbed him for a week the time he'd run out of reading material on the plane home one night and had stolen a trashy romance from JJ after she'd fallen asleep, but oh, the dreams that had caused. He squirmed a little on the couch at those memories. Yep, paint left him cold, but a good book could definitely make him feel something.

He settled back into the couch and concentrated on the banter surrounding him. He was startled from his thoughts by the door buzzer. He started to get up to answer it, but Emily called out, "I got it."

He heard Haley's voice come from the speaker, "Pizza's here."

Emily buzzed her in the building and opened the apartment door so Haley wouldn't have to knock when she got upstairs. Reid listened for the elevator to stop as the others resumed their chatter, and started putting plastic bags over paint rollers? "Hey, Emily, why are you doing that?"

"What?"

"Putting grocery bags on the rollers and brushes."

"Keeps them moist while we take a break. This way we don't have to clean them until we're finished. It saves a lot of time and energy. We'll put the second coat on after we eat." Reid nodded absorbing the information. Chances were he'd never repaint, but in his mind there as no such thing as bad information.

He turned his head as he heard the ding of elevator doors opening and recognized Jack's voice as he chattered happily to his mother. "We go Unca 'Pencer's house? Do Unca 'Pencer have toys? Why Unca 'Pencer have 'vater in him house?" He wasn't quite sure how he had gotten elevated to "uncle" status, but something about it gave him a nice warm feeling inside.

He wished he could hear Haley's responses but she was speaking too quietly. He really liked that Haley took the time to respond to Jack's questions, the soft way she spoke to him reminded him a bit of his mom when he was little. Of course at that age he'd been asking how the _**'vater**_ worked and what kind of books were available for him to read, but it was the tone of voice and the patience so much more than the words themselves.

The two came through the door and the entire group broke into laughter when Jack announced, "Unca 'Pencer, you room is a meth. You better clean it or Mommy get mad."

Reid had the mad urge to respond that it was 'Daddy' who had made the mess, but since Hotch was standing in the doorway to the kitchen wiping his hands on a paint rag, he thought it might be a bad idea. Instead he patted the couch next to him and called Jack over. He smiled at his new friend as he pointed to the buckets of paint and explained that the "mess" was to keep his things clean while they painted his walls. Jack nodded thoughtfully as he and Reid accepted slices of pizza from Haley.

Reid checked to make sure Haley wasn't looking before he picked the peppers and onions from his pizza and held back a chuckle when Jack reached over and took them from his plate, adding them to his own pizza.

Garcia carried her plate out of the kitchen to claim the couch on Jack's other side. Reid watched as she carefully removed the sausage from her pizza and set it on his plate, a long-time vegetarian for health reasons, her sausage, pepperoni, et cetera, usually went to Reid in trade for his peppers and onions. He suspected it would go to Morgan, but he watched his food just as carefully as she did when they weren't on the road. He was constantly telling Reid if he wanted to build up some muscle, he was going to have to give up Twinkies for lean meat and vegetables. To which Reid usually responded that if God wanted man to eat vegetables, he wouldn't have invented Twinkies in the first place.

And it wasn't that he didn't try to eat some healthy foods, but the unhealthy stuff just tastes so much better. Besides it really didn't seem to matter what he ate, he couldn't gain weight, muscle or not. Even during training at Quantico, he'd managed to pass the physical components more through sheer stubbornness than actual muscle. He wasn't unhealthy, he was just genetically predisposed to be on the low end of the weight scale and since he took a daily vitamin, he didn't really see where a couple carrot sticks were going to make a difference in his life.

He looked up as he heard a thud coming from the kitchen. Haley, Hotch and Gideon had settled in there, while the rest settled on the floor on the other side of the coffee table where is foot rested. He heard another thud. He wished he could see into the kitchen but it was impossible from this angle. He looked to Morgan, who had been the last to leave the kitchen, for explanation. Another thud. Morgan just grinned back at him. "Come on, Man, what's going on in there?"

"Haley opened the fridge to get a soda."

Reid just looked at him, confused.

"She didn't like what she saw. She said things are supposed to grow on farms, not in the fridge."

"I haven't been here in two weeks."

JJ piped up, "Yeah, Spence, I just don't think that's going to get you a by on this one."

"Come on, like you guys have never come home from a job to find something gone bad in the fridge."

Emily laughed, "Reid, I looked in there, some of those take-out containers could grow legs and take themselves back out at any time."

Morgan continued, "When's the last time you washed it out?"

"Washed it? You don't wash refrigerators." He looked at JJ, "Do you wash your refrigerator?" He was a little concerned by the fact that she was obviously trying not to burst out laughing, he just wasn't sure whether it was because he didn't _**wash**_ his refrigerator, or because Morgan was pulling his leg.

After a few moments she gave up the fight and burst out laughing, nodding frantically. Emily wasn't quite as amused, but there was definite laughter in her voice when she clarified, "You know, every few months when you take everything out and wipe down the inside?"

She noted his look of confusion, decided on logic and science, "Okay, when you put leftovers in, if there was bacteria or mold, it'll grow, some faster than others. Then it gets into the air in the fridge and onto the walls and the other food. So, if you don't wipe down all the surfaces with a cleanser to get rid of the mold and bacteria then eventually all your food gets contaminated as soon as you put it in."

Reid looked down at the pizza on his plate, he just threw out the old food and wiped up any spills, he'd never given any thought to actually washing the inside out. No wonder it always seemed like his food spoiled fast. He'd finally given up, started buying all his condiments in glass jars and mostly used the fridge to store leftovers until he had a chance to take out the garbage.

"So, if I wash the fridge, the food will last longer?"

He heard glass striking glass and winced. Apparently even condiments weren't safe.

"Unca 'Pencer, you fridge a meth, too?"

"Yeah, Bud, apparently my fridge is a mess, too."

"Mommy, don't like metheth."

More breaking glass from the kitchen, "Yeah, I think you're right."

"You gonna get time-out." Jack said firmly as he happily went back to his pizza while the rest just laughed at Reid's predicament. Exactly what kind of time-out did an adult get for having a dirty fridge?

Reid winced as he heard cupboard doors slamming, were his cupboards in bad shape as well?

A moment later Haley stuck her head out of the kitchen, "Spencer, where do you keep your cleaning supplies?"

"Under the cupboard next to the fridge."

"There's nothing there."

Reid quickly reviewed the extent of his cleaning supplies and decided that Haley probably wouldn't consider a bottle of Windex and a can of Comet to be cleaning supplies, and he really was out of floor cleaner, "Um, actually I think I'm out. I haven't made it to the store for a while." Apparently that was the right answer because she nodded and ducked back into the kitchen.

He looked at Morgan and looked away quickly, he had a feeling Morgan would know he was lying through his teeth. His whispered, "Forgot, huh?" was proof enough.

The furious, "Shut it," he muttered back earned him a group laugh from everyone but Jack, who was contentedly chewing the last of his pizza crust. He was sure Morgan and the others were well aware that he could list the entire inventory of his cupboards at any time, but Haley didn't, and at the moment there was no reason to tell her.

She came through a few minutes later carrying her purse, "I'm just going to restock, I'll be back in an hour." She squatted down in front of Jack, "Mommy's going back to the store for a minute, you be a good boy for Daddy and Uncle Spencer, okay?"

The little boy nodded vigorously, "'Kay, Mommy. Me be good."

She kissed him on he top of the head, stood up and did the same to Reid and walked out the door. Reid felt the blush rise on his cheeks as Morgan struggled not to laugh until Haley was out the door. He wasn't sure why Haley had started doing that a couple days ago, but some inner part of him liked it so he wasn't complaining. It reminded him of when he was little and his mom used to kiss him good-bye before going to work. He heard the door click shut and wasn't surprised when the group around him burst into laughter.

He felt the blush increase when Hotch and Gideon came out of the kitchen to see what was so funny. "Hotch, Man, you better watch out, I think Reid's trying to steal your woman."

"Huh?"

Morgan stopped laughing long enough to explain what had happened, but found himself rolling on the floor when Jack piped up, "What funny? Mommy like Unca 'Pencer. Hers 'dopting him."

It was a long time before the group settled Jack down for his nap on the couch with Reid and returned to their painting.

AN: Wrapping your paint rollers and brushes really does keep them moist so you can pick right up where you left off the next day.

I've got dirty fridges on the brain, because that's what I'm heading off to do now.


	11. Coming Home

AN: This is it, guys, Reid's new home.

'Half quoted' words indicate the vocabulary that Reid's learned in the process of his home makeover.

COMING HOME

Reid closed the door behind the delivery guys and looked around his new home, because for the first time, that's what this apartment really felt like, a home. His new home filled with family.

Emily had been right, the forest green, microsuede furniture looked great against the ice green walls, 'clean lines,' none of that 'poofy, overstuffed look.' The long couch on the wall across from the t.v., the easy chair - he had really liked Hotch's easy chair - angled to its left, and the love seat to the right. Emily had called it a 'conversation group.' He was now the proud owner a maple coffee table and two end tables, with 'decorative, but functional,' lamps in a dark green that almost exactly matched the painted molding around his doorways and floorboards. His computer desk sat in its corner with a real office chair instead of the spare kitchen chair he had had before, his bookshelves - now painted a single color, white - were spaced out between the other furniture instead of lined up along one wall as he had had them and the single window now boasted a white Venetian blind and dark forest curtains hanging from a brass curtain rod.

He moved to the kitchen where his new dark pine table and chairs - which matched the cupboards - had been installed. He was very pleased with the pale yellow/cream walls and dark yellow/gold trim in this room, it was pleasant, soothing. Haley had come back last week with enough cleaning supplies to keep him in business for a couple years, and after cleaning his refrigerator, sink and oven, and then his bathroom, had installed the cleaning supplies in the small cupboard over the fridge so Jack couldn't get into them when they came to visit.

Her hunt through his cupboards had also revealed his lack of cookware, cutlery and 'tableware,' a lack that had been swiftly corrected when Emily realized she hadn't given him back his credit card yet and headed out with Haley in tow. He now had 'full service' for sixteen, including wine glasses, and a complete set of pots and pans. He wasn't sure where anyone intended to put seven more people - maybe a buffet party - but the idea was nice. They'd also come back with a wooden dish strainer that matched the table very nicely.

They had gotten the placemats, pot holders, and dishtowels and -cloths the first time around, all in either the same dark yellow as the kitchen trim with green patterns, or in the dark green of his living room trim with dark yellow patterns.

Haley had also noted the state of his food cupboards and informed him the Chef Boy Ardee was fine once in a while, but was not supposed to be a 'staple.' Over the past week she had taught him several recipes and how to make up homemade t.v. dinners. His freezer now held thirty Gladware containers with meatloaf, pork chops, steak and chicken, each with a pasta or rice side dish and a vegetable. All neatly labeled with the contents and the date cooked.

The color scheme had been somewhat repeated in the bathroom with the cream walls and the gold trim, 'complimented' by the dark forest bath and hand towels, shower curtain, with liner, and bathmat. There was even a new matching wastebasket and soap dispenser in dark green with marbled gold 'accents.'

Finally he moved toward the bedroom, the girls had forbidden him to enter today until they had time to get the bed finished. He had decided that he really liked the ice blue walls with the midnight blue trim that they had chosen for him. The single window had a midnight blue Venetian blind and 'drapes' - which Emily informed him were thicker, and therefore better at keeping light out, than curtains - also hung on a brass curtain rod.

He had chosen a queen-size - Emily insisted with his height he'd appreciate the extra length, Morgan, he was sure, would soon be teasing him in an entirely different vein - 'platform' bed - no posts or footboard - with a bookcase headboard, a four-drawer dresser with a mirror, two nightstands, and a storage trunk to go at the foot of the bed, all in maple like the living room tables. The girls had selected decorative blue reading lamps for the nightstands and light blue sheets and pillowcases with dark blue blankets for the bed. He knew his trunk held a second set, dark sheets with light-colored blankets.

He wandered over to his closed bedroom door, how long did it take eight people to make a bed anyway? Sure, Jack was probably getting in the way more than helping, but with one person holding him, that still left six people to make the bed, it wasn't _that_ big. He was about to knock when Garcia opened the door, "You may enter now, my sweet."

He stepped through the door and froze, "It's beautiful. Who? You guys -- this is -- it's great. Thank you." He looked at the quilt draped over his new bed, a few years ago he'd interviewed a witness who collected quilts, the whole process had fascinated him so he'd learned about it, if this was authentic Amish or Mennonite then it was the most expensive gift he'd ever received. Also the most beautiful. He stepped forward, looking closely.

It was a Mariner's Compass design in various shades of blue, the stitches were longer than from a sewing machine, different sizes in different areas, very even without being machine perfect. This was real. A handmade quilt. "I can't believe you guys did this. How did you get it done so fast?"

JJ spoke up, "Can you believe Garcia? She has friends everywhere. Even Mennonites can't resist her charm."

Garcia stretched up to place a kiss on his cheek, "I told you, you could trust me."

He reached an arm around and pulled her close despite the crutches and whispered in her ear, "thanks."

Reid was saved from tears when Jack started bouncing in his father's arms yelling, "Me jump bed now, me jump bed, pwease?"

"Not right now, Jack," his father was firm, but amused. "When we get home, you can jump."

The group laughed as they headed out of the bedroom removing the youngest Hotchner from temptation.

As they moved from room to room, Morgan called out, "We need to do this right, guys." He held up his cell phone, "Chinese or Italian?" He counted four shouts for Italian and four for Chinese, the only one who hadn't voted was Jack, tiebreaker by a two year old. Morgan looked at Hotch who held Jack up and said, "What's it gonna be, Buddy, pizza or chicken balls?"

"Balls!"

Morgan laughed as he looked to Reid for the number, "Balls it is." As he dialed people called out their favorites. He added sides of steamed and fried rice and noodles and gave the address.

Garcia sat down at his computer and opened the music program. She smiled as she looked through the wide variety of songs he had loaded. All the computers she'd hacked -- examined, she didn't think she'd ever seen such a wide variety of music. Just for fun she selected a tune by Metallica, then queued up a little of something for everyone, _Evita_ for Gideon, Taylor Swift for Haley, Nickelback for Morgan, Shania for JJ, _I am Woman_ for herself, a couple rock ballads for Hotch, jazz for Emily, and though he wouldn't know it, _My Heart Will Go On_ - JJ's favorite romantic ballad for Reid. After selecting about forty songs she hit shuffle and turned her attention to her friends.

She quietly maneuvered the group so that Gideon and Jack would up in the recliner, Morgan, Emily, Hotch and Haley wound up on the couch, which left the loveseat for Reid and JJ. There was no way she could fail to see the look JJ shot her way, but some day she would manage to convince her friend that Reid really did see below the surface, if JJ only knew the things Reid had sworn her to secrecy about.

Over time he had told her that JJ was beautiful and sexy, she knew it, she used it, and he was amazed at how quickly she could wrap a seasoned FBI agent around her little finger with nothing more than a smile and a look. And that she was brilliant and he'd nearly wet himself the first time she had stepped up during a profile briefing, he didn't even think she'd realized what she'd done until much later, but she'd nailed it and now it was happening more and more frequently. That she had the patience of Job, she wrangled reporters all day long and never lost her temper, no matter how stupid the questions they asked. That she was wonderful with kids, if he had to interview a child, there was no one he'd rather have at his side. That she was compassionate, she'd broken the news to hundreds of loved ones and never complained, she'd even taught other law enforcement officers how to do it. That she was strong and brave, she was one of the few people who could stand up to Hotch and not be shaking in their shoes the whole time.

And not once in all the times he had waxed poetic about JJ had he mentioned how physically attracted he was. Of course he was, but Garcia knew that in no way, was that the first thing on his mind when he looked at JJ. If that was all he cared about then he wouldn't care if she told him no. Besides if he was interested in meaningless sex with a beautiful woman, he would have called Lila back. And Garcia knew for a fact that he'd never called the woman, even the two times the team had been called back to L.A.

Now, when a man preferred to admire you from afar when he could have a beautiful young starlet, that was more than lust, that was love. Of course, Garcia couldn't tell JJ that he'd never called Lila since she hadn't exactly acquired that knowledge legitimately. Hey, she meddles; it's who she is. Nothing wrong with pulling a few phone records for a good cause.

She jumped up from her seat when the door buzzer rang and crossed the room to buzz the deliveryman in.

Reid watched as Garcia crossed the room to buzz the delivery guy up and winked to acknowledge her not-so-subtle machinations with the seating. He had originally planned to spend some time in his new recliner tonight, but this was much better. Tonight just might be a good time to give those chopsticks another try. He was sure JJ'd be willing to take another shot at giving him lessons.

By the time the deliveryman arrived at the door Reid had managed to get up to meet him. He watched as Morgan paid Chen and exchanged his usual greetings and salutation. He'd learned it phonetically by copying Chen and the other Chinese delivery guys from the restaurant. He closed the door and turned to find Emily stifling a giggle behind her hand. "What?" She just shook her head and started laughing out loud. "What?" He crossed the room and nudged her leg with a crutch, "Out with it. What's so funny?"

"He wasn't --." She stopped talking, laughing too hard to continue.

He pushed at her leg again, raised the crutch to stomach height, threatening her with a good poke, "Tell me now." He knew she wasn't going to be actually threatened by his tone of voice, but the joke was apparently on him, and he wanted to know what it was.

"All right, all right, just give me a minute." He lowered the crutch and waited while she composed herself. "You just -- you just told him -- you told him 'Enjoy -- enjoy y -- your din -- dinner, pl -- please order -- please order -- order again.' But at least you -- you said it r -- right."

On his way to the kitchen he decided that maybe the worst part about crutches was that it was physically impossible to stomp with them, because if anything required a good stomping exit, this was it. Morgan followed behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Buddy, relax, it's not a big deal."

Reid turned to him, let him see the laughter in his face, "Two years, two years I have been telling the delivery guys from that restaurant to please order again." He burst out laughing, saying, "But just think of the look on his face next time when I answer him, 'thank you, I'm sure it'll be delicious.'"

"Oh, man, who'da guessed you got such a mean streak in ya?"

They set to opening cartons and inserting spoons. The others started filtering into the kitchen, Hotch bringing Jack first to make sure he was able to get his chicken balls as well as a good variety of the other choices. Everyone filled their plates and returned to the living room to eat, talk, listen to music and watch JJ try again to teach Reid how to use chopsticks.

&&&&&&

"You're sure you don't want to stay with us a little longer? You're welcome to."

"Thanks, Hotch, I really appreciate it, but I'm good."

"Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

"I'll be fine. I'll see you at work on Monday."

"Bye-bye, Unca 'Pencer." Reid returned Jack's hug good-bye with a smile on his face and closed the door behind them. He looked around his _new_ home and smiled to himself. Life is good.


End file.
